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Grain destined for export stacked on Madras beaches (February 1877) I've started writing a series of posts on photography on World...

Tuesday, 16 September 2008

Zapiro v Zuma

Jill Greenberg's McCain images are still tame compared to what cartoonists get up to. Above is Jonathan Shapiro's, aka Zapiro, picture of the ANC's party leader Jacob Zuma - that appeared in The Sunday Times newspaper. The picture refers to Zuma's alleged interference with the South African judicial system, a rape accusation from a few years earlier - the shower head refers to Zuma's penchant for showering away the germs as a protection against HIV rather than use a condom.

Following the media uproar, Shapiro told the BBC. "The primary issue is there's a figure about to rape the justice system with the help of his political allies," he said.

"It is derogatory, yes, it is demeaning, yes, but that's the intention."

And as Jacob Zuma said, "It is only in dictatorships and autocracies where criticism is viewed with contempt," but I don't think he was talking about Zapiro there.